Blog 16.12.2021

 

The corridors, children, young people and staff have been embracing the Christmas celebrations this week. We have showcased the primary productions on Monday and Thursday and they were fabulous. These have been recorded and a link will be sent to families so you can watch and share this experience together.

We have also celebrated the Christmas markets on Friday afternoon in the sports hall. The school council worked tirelessly to make sure the event was a huge success and the Primary children also got to meet Father Christmas and received a present from him. It was a magical moment for our children seeing Father Christmas and interacting with him.

Let’s see what some of the classes have been doing starting with Miss Pettigrew’s class…

“We have had so much fun this week in year 1! We have been working really hard in phonics, maths and communication and of course getting into the Christmas spirit in Attention Autism.

In phonics we have been focusing on blending sounds and recapping the sounds we have learnt this term. We have worked hard to match sounds, improve our letter formation and work on our fine motor skills through lots of fun activities (our favourite is definitely using playdough).

In maths this week, our focus has been on patterns and colours. We have enjoyed exploring patterns in Attention Autism and practising making and matching patterns in lots of different ways, including using fruit, balls, beads, bears, cubes and pictures. We have particularly loved using the bears to explore patterns.

In communication this week we have been developing our turn taking skills through games and using symbols to support this. We have been practising making requests for some of our favourite toys by choosing the picture we want and giving it to an adult or putting it on a sentence strip. The children have made so much progress with this.

Some children have also been using colourful semantics to help build sentences through playing ‘pop up pirate’.

We have been spending our afternoons getting into the Christmas spirit through Attention Autism, decorating our Christmas tree, making Christmas crafts, decorating biscuits and making Christmas playdough.

We have also had fun keeping active in soft play, PE, outdoor education and going on rainy walks whilst splashing in puddles.

We are all so proud of how far they have come this term and the progress they are making every day.”

 

 

Now to Mrs Potts’ form…

 

“As we come to the end of the 1st term we are starting to get to know the characters that have joined our form this year. They are a fabulous form who all have their own qualities.

In PE since September, the students have been learning how to play Basketball and Dodgeball. Hayden O and Sam have shown themselves to be good team players.

In Science the class have been learning about particles and forces. Whilst studying particles they have carried out experiments relating to distillation.

In ICT the class have been looking at the working of a computer and learning the names of the different parts as well as looking at the different types of computer storage.

The class have been enjoying music, they have been using the keyboards to re-create the Star Wars theme tune and using FACE and Every Good Boy Deserves Football to remember the names of the notes.

During Preparing for Adulthood the class have completed a variety of tasks including making Pom Poms to sell at the Christmas market, they have also been researching jobs and careers they might have an interest in in the future.

Outdoor Ed has involved a visit to various parks. They have just started visiting various places in the community including the local Tesco where they are given a list of items to find in the supermarket and then workout how much it would cost to buy them all or what items could be bought for a certain amount.

The class have particularly enjoyed Food Technology and they have made a variety of things including Apple Crumble, fruit salad and chocolate rice crispy cake. They have also learnt some important skills including how to cut/chop correctly.

As we finish for Christmas we say good bye to Miss Ninian who has been with our form since September, she is not leaving Hollinwood Academy but is taking up a new role delivering interventions so we will still see her and wish her good luck in her new role.”

 

Now to our amazing SUPER STARs and SEALs…

Mrs Lerigo’s STAR of the week is Harrison for brilliant work in the Christmas performance and being a fantastic elf.

Mrs Lerigo’s SEAL Superstar is Ziyan for coping so well being back in school after being poorly.

Miss Pettigrew’s STAR of the week is Cody for communicating really well with adults and using lots of new words.

Miss Marston’s STAR of the week is Mylo for fantastic counting, pattern matching and recognising numbers in our maths sessions this week.

Mr Corrigan’s SEAL Superstar is David for coping really well with the Phonics group changes.

Mr Corrigan’s WOW moments goes to Cole, Isaam and Jacob. Well done!

Mrs Halkyard’s STAR of the week is Sam for adjusting so well into his new school.

Mrs Halkyard’s SEAL of the week is Daniel for super team work.

Mrs Halkyard’s DOJO winner is Andie. Well done

Miss Prescott’s STAR of the week is Fatima for being brave and kind.

Miss Prescott’s SEAL of the week is Madison for understanding that emotions and feelings change the way we act.

Miss Prescott’s DOJO winner is Ebon. Well done!

Miss Prescott’s WOW moment goes to Gerard. Well done!

Miss Simms’ STAR of the week is Logan for understanding the feelings of others.

Miss Simms’ SEAL Superstar is Amario for remembering the appropriate conversations skills.

Mrs Woodhead’s STAR of the week is Jacob for working independently and completing tasks independently.

Mrs Woodhead’s SEAL Superstar is Lewis for allowing people to help when I am sad or angry.

Miss Tootill’s STAR of the week is Lucas for working hard and having a great day.

Miss Tootill’s SEAL of the week is Thomas for finding a solution to a problem.

Miss Tootill’s DOJO winner is Ethan! Well done!

 

This week, our Story Bag winners are:

KS1: Mylo

KS2: Sam

I hope you enjoy the little suitcase full of books with your families at home.

 

Now to our ‘Commitment to Learning Stars’:

Certificates without surnames

 

Next Tuesday, we have our Christmas dinner and jumper day in school and we are looking forward to sharing this with all the classes. That evening is Miss Sanderson and Mrs Duffy’s forms parents evening. If you have not already booked your appointment, please access your ParentApp account and book through this or contact Natalie or Courtney via email on: names@newbridgegroup.org or cfullen@newbridgegroup.org and they will be happy to help. Unfortunately, due to the current circumstances from the Omicron variant, all of these appointments will now have to be made via the telephone and not face to face as everyone’s safety is my priority.

The latest advice from Public Health, to date, is there has been a growing number of confirmed and suspected Omicron cases in Greater Manchester which have had an impact on schools and settings where contacts have been identified and required to self-isolate. This is a fast-moving situation, and this advice is being sent to you as correct at this time, until we know more about this new strain.

· All close contacts of confirmed or suspected Omicron cases in educational settings will be required to isolate for 10 days, regardless of age and vaccination status.

· The 10-day isolation period will commence from the last point of contact with the confirmed or suspected case.

As a school, if we have a confirmed or suspected Omicron case we will work closely with Public Health to make sure we take appropriate actions.

Can I remind our families that we finish for the Christmas holidays on Thursday 16th December and we return in the new year on Tuesday 4th January 2022.

 

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Millard